Vergina is a small village in northern Greece, near Veria, and home to one of the most important archaeological sites in the Greek world. The Royal Tombs of Aegae — the ancient Macedonian capital — were discovered here in 1977. Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, is believed to be buried in Tomb II, and the golden larnax containing his bones and a stunning gold crown are displayed in the underground museum built within the burial mounds.
The museum is genuinely extraordinary — you walk into the great burial mound itself, and the atmosphere is striking. A few hundred metres uphill, the Palace of Aigai reopened in 2024 after a 16-year restoration; just below it sits the theatre where Philip II was assassinated in 336 BC. Vergina is easily visited as a day trip from Thessaloniki, about 70 kilometres away.